What is Tui-Na?

Tui-na (Chinese: 推拏 or 推拿; pinyin: tuī ná),
is a form of Chinese manipulative massage therapy often used in conjunction with acupressure, tai chi, and qigong.

Tui-na is a hands-on body treatment that uses Chinese taoist and martial art principles to bring the body to balance. The principles being balanced of the yin and the yang.

The practitioner may brush, knead, roll/press and rub the areas between each of the joints (known as the eight gates) to open the body's defensive (wei) chi and get the energy moving in both the meridians and the muscles taking the pain away using deep tissue massage. The practitioner can then use range of motion, traction (creating heat), massage, with the stimulation of acupressure points and to treat both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, such as back pain, neck pain, headache, as well as many non-musculoskeletal conditions such as stress and tension.

Tui-na is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is taught in TCM schools as part of formal training in Oriental medicine. Many East Asian martial arts schools also teach tui-na to their advanced students for the treatment and management of injury and pain due to training as a sports therapy. As with many other traditional Chinese medical practices, there are several different schools with greater or lesser differences in their approach to the discipline. It is related also to Chinese massage or anmo (按摩).

Tui na has fewer side effects than modern drug-based and chemical-based treatments. It has been used to treat or complement the treatment of many conditions; musculo-skeletal disorders and chronic stress-related disorders of the digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems.

History of Tui Na

In ancient China, medical therapy was often classified into "external" and "internal" treatments. Tui-na was one of the external methods, especially suitable for use on the elderly population and on infants. Today it is subdivided into specialized treatment for infants, adults, orthopedics, traumatology, cosmetology, rehabilitation, sports medicine, etc. Tui na has been used extensively in China for over 2,000 years.

Massage techniques are ubiquitous in almost all early human cultures. Similar techniques date at least as early as the Shang Dynasty, around 1700 BC. Ancient inscriptions on oracle bones show that massage was used to treat infants and adult digestive conditions. In his book Jin Gui Yao Lue, Zhang Zhongjing, a famous physician in the Han Dynasty (206 BC), wrote, "As soon as the heavy sensation of the limbs is felt, "Daoyin", "Tui na", "Zhenjiu" and "Gaomo", all of which are therapeutic methods, are carried out in order to prevent... the disease from gaining a start." Around AD 700, Tui na had developed into a separate study in the Imperial Medical College.

The first reference to this type of external treatment was called "anwu", then the more common name became "anmo". It was then popularized and spread to the United States.

As the art of massage continued to develop and gain structure, it merged (around 1600 AD) with another technique called tui na, which was the specialty of bone-setting using deep manipulation. It was also around this time that the different systems of tui na became popular, each with its own sets of rules and methods.

Today, the term Tui na has replaced anmo within China and in the West. The term anmo is still used in some surrounding countries such as Japan.

It is not unusual to see practitioners working on street corners and parks in modern China. Tui na is an occupation that is particularly suitable to those with physical disabilities and in China, many blind persons receive training in the art of tui na, where their heightened sense of touch is a great benefit.

Tui Na at Golden Hands Chinese Bodywork LLC

The practitioner uses a flow of rhythm to push the energy along channels within the body along with other techniques that enable energy flow and loosen the joints.  This form of Tui-Na has been used in China for more than 2,000 years.

This technique is extremely relaxing.  When you keep coming back toto Golden Hands Chinese Bodywork, we will develop an awareness of your Qi and so you will feel your wellness progress and improve.   Tui Na is a unique system of hands-on treatment, offering profound effects.

Similar to acupressure, Tui Na directly affects the energy within the body by holding and pressing the body at acupressure points.

Your practitioner can focus on specific locations to help you relax and alleviate stress and pain.  Tui Na provides relief to muscle and joint pain. In addition you will notice a deeper internal correction to problems such as asthma and breathing problems, along with female problems.